Those crazy WWF fans hoisted Bob Backlund on their shoulders

It was a scene that I don’t think I’ve witnessed since the day it was on TV in 1982 or 1983 because it broke the cardinal rule: Fans don’t participate in the action.

Then-WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund had just won a rare television squash match (in those days of syndicated TV, the champ almost never wrestled on television because the promoters wanted you to pay to see him at the house shows). As Backlund stood in the ring holding the belt over his head, the crowd came storming in to celebrate with him. They lifted Backlund up on their shoulders and paraded him around the ring.